The 2026 Iowa high school girls cross country season will soon be underway.
The Ames area will feature some veterans with state experience and some talented up-and-comers on the girls side.
Ames, Ballard, Collins-Maxwell and Gilbert all have runners back from teams that qualified for state in 2025. Colo-NESCO and Roland-Story both return two individual qualifiers.
There will also be several breakout runners from the Ames area during the season.
Here, in alphabetical order, are the top 15 girls cross country runners from the Ames area heading into the 2026 season.
Sophie Bates
Roland-Story, Jr.
Bates is one of two returning individual state qualifiers for the Roland-Story girls cross country team.
Bates placed 65th in the Class 2A girls race at state last year. Her 5-kilometer time at state was 21 minutes, 30.4 seconds.
Alexis Bleich
Gilbert, Soph.
Bleich is a returning runner for a Gilbert girls cross country team that placed 10th in 3A at last year’s state meet.
Bleich ran a 5k time of 20:19.6 at state as a freshman, which put her 98th in 3A.
Giada Colbeck
Nevada, Sr.
Colbeck is the top returning runner for the Nevada girls cross country team.
Colbeck’s best 2025 5k effort was 21:59.
Elizabeth Erickson
Colo-NESCO, Sr.
Erickson will be going for fourth-straight trip to state in 2026.
The three-time 1A qualifier took 41st at last year’s state meet with a 20:37.1 showing. She placed 28th as a freshman 20:17.6 and 46th as a sophomore in 20:33.3.
Ophelia Harrelson
Ames, Jr.
Harrelson gained valuable experience at state last year as a sophomore runner for an Ames team that placed 11th in the 4A girls competition.
Harrelson took 70th at the 2025 state meet in 19:49.6.
Hayden Hendrick
Colo-NESCO, Soph.
Hendrick is coming off an amazing freshman season for Colo-NESCO.
She placed 28th in the 1A girls race with a time of 20:17.9. Hendrick has the potential to place in the top 20 at state this season.
Honor Jorgensen
Ballard, Soph.
Jorgensen is part of a talented sophomore class that could put Ballard in the top 10 of the 3A girls team competition at state this season.
As a freshman, Jorgensen helped Ballard finish 14th in the 3A girls team standing at state. She placed 46th individually in 19:56.5, and after putting in a lot of miles over the summer she has a chance to reach the top 35 this season.
Leah Kincaid
Ames, Sr.
Kincaid gives Ames a veteran runner with state experience.
She contributed to Ames’ 2025 state qualifier, placing 126th in 5A. Her top time so far has been 21 minutes flat.
Avilee Miller
Ballard, Soph.
Miller was the lead runner for last year’s 3A qualifying Ballard team.
She ran a 5k time of 19:19 last year and placed 37th in 3A at state with a 19:45.6 showing. Thanks to a strong offseason, if she can stay healthy Miller could challenge for a top 20 individual spot at this year’s state meet.
Raya Miller
Ballard, Sr.
Miller, the older sister of Avilee, gives Ballard a talented senior leader.
Her best 5k time entering the season in 20:27. Miller took 84th in 3A at the 2025 state meet with a time of 20:55.7 and she will provide quality depth and leadership to a Ballard squad looking place in the 3A top 10 at the 2026 state meet.
Brooklyn Nelson
Gilbert, Jr.
Nelson is another talented young runner for the Gilbert girls cross country team.
She is hoping to help first-year coach Zach Ortloff get the Tigers back to state as a team. Nelson placed 100th in 3A at last year’s state meet with a 21:21.3 showing, and her career-best effort is 20:54.
Kara Patterson
Roland-Story, Sr.
Patterson returns as the lead runner for Roland-Story.
She had a standout junior season that saw her qualify for state individually in 2A. Patterson placed 56th at the 2025 state meet in 21:10.5.
Jayden Peters
Collins-Maxwell, Sr.
Peters is looking to cap her outstanding cross country career with a top 20 showing at state in 1A this season.
Peters is a three-time state qualifier. She placed 31st in 20:23 as a freshman, 21st in 19:56.6 as a sophomore and 25th in 20:02.3 as a junior.
Emma Stanley
Ames, Sr.
Stanley is one of the top returning runners 4A this season.
She enters the season ranked 12th in 4A by the Iowa Association of Track Coaches. Stanley placed 17th in 4A at last year’s state meet with a time of 18:33.5, and her career-best effort is 18:22.
Clare Tallman
Gilbert, Soph.
Tallman is another returning runner from last year’s Gilbert state qualifier.
As a freshman, Tallman took 93rd in 3A at state with a time of 21:10.3. Her best 5k time entering the season is 20:32.
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Meet the Ames Tribune’s top 15 area girls XC runners heading into 2026
Reporting by Joe Randleman, Ames Tribune / Ames Tribune
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By Joe Randleman, Ames Tribune | USA TODAY Network
